In recent weeks rare comic books have been hogging the headlines in collectibles with Superman and Batman each selling for more than $1m.
First edition books have tried to get in on the act with a select few copies selling for 10 times their estimate at auction.
Then there is the classic car market. In the last week alone three Ferrari's have sold for over $1m each.
Or the rare stamp investment market where Chinese stamps have set three world records in 2010.
Investors are putting money into collectibles at an increased rate. Alternative Investment markets are booming, as witnessed by record breaking auction prices.
It got us thinking. What is the most valuable collectible in the world by weight?
Well, it turns out the most valuable collectible is also the most valuable commodity on earth.
By weight there is nothing that is more valuable than the tre skilling yellow stamp.
It weighs in at a mighty impressive $71 billion per kilo.
Sweden's first stamps were introduced in 1855, and the first kinds included a three skilling stamp with a colour closest to turquoise. This stamp has become quite rare and is very collectible.
However, in 1885 a man named Georg Backman in Stockholm spotted a unique version dating from 1857: an entirely yellow print.
Errors such as inversions and colour abnormalities are usually valuable, depending on the rarity.
 The Treskilling Yellow ($2.33m) |
Regardless of the reason, the stamp has become a legend because it is unique: only one has ever been found.
Its previous owners have included royalty and nobility, including King Carol II of Romania and Count Ferrary, who boasted the finest collection of all time.
The stamp last sold for the equivalent of $2.33m in 1996.
The Treskilling Yellow is widely recognised as the most valuable stamp in the world, and has been included in the Guinness Book of Records.
